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"Deputies had a suspect in custody Tuesday in the downing of a Bernalillo County sheriff's helicopter.Authorities said they arrested Jason Kerns, 29, Monday night in the driveway of his home in the 9900 block of Columbus Circle in northwest Albuquerque -- not far from where the crash happened Aug. 6.The pilot, Chris Holland, remained hospitalized Tuesday. A sheriff's deputy who also was in the helicopter suffered minor injuries.Witnesses in the area told officials they heard gunfire shortly before the chopper crashed in the Paradise Hills neighborhood.Kerns is currently being held at the Metro Detention Center on a $1.8 million cash-only bond.As part of an arrest warrant released Tuesday, Kerns was said to be one of the first on the scene the night the chopper went down. Court documents indicate that Kerns came under suspicion almost from the get-go.He stated hearing a gunshot and seeing the chopper fall, but police officials stated his story was misleading.In a written statement, Kerns describes the chopper as disturbing his dog and said he was getting annoyed because it was there so long and flying so low.Sheriff's records released Tuesday showed that Jason Kerns told investigators it would be no problem for him to \"make that shot.\" He faces charges of assault with intent to commit a violent felony upon an officer, criminal damage to property and tampering with evidence in the  Aug. 6  shooting.The next day, deputies canvassed the neighborhood. Several residents reported hearing a gunshot before the chopper crashed.According to court documents, the turning point in the case came when deputies found a spent shell casing in Kerns' trash that allegedly match a rifle found in his home and bullet fragments removed from the chopper and the pilot's leg.Perhaps the biggest revelation is that the FBI identified Kerns as a former helicopter airframe mechanic and marksmanship instructor for the Marines.Sheriff's records showed Kerns is a former lance corporal honorably discharged from the Marine Corps in November 2001.Kerns was scheduled for an initial appearance in front of metro court Judge Frank Gentry on Tuesday afternoon. That was postponed for 24 hours to give him more time to get an attorney.According to police, Kerns has attempted suicide four times."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.koat.com/article/copter-crash-suspect-is-former-marine-helicopter-mechanic/5020990>